The cheerful holiday decorations stood in contrast to the event that brought them there: Revera's funeral.

Donald J. Revera, 26, a Broward sheriff's deputy, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on Dec. 21. Out of respect for the family, the sheriff's office withheld Monday's release of the Broward Medical Examiner's report on whether the shooting was accidental or intentional. The report is scheduled to be released today.

Last week, Donna Revera, 30, the deputy's widow, told the church's pastor, the Rev. Howard Leman, that she wasn't sure she had the strength to go on.

But on Monday, she stood before the standing-room-only crowd, supported by her best friend, Karla Soukup, and Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne.

In a calm, strong voice, she said the time she shared with her husband was short, but his memory will be everlasting.

"My promise to D.J. is to be strong," his widow said.

Jenne told Donna Revera that she and her infant son, Connor, will always be part of the Sheriff's Office family.

"This department will long remember D.J. and will hold you with love and respect and hold Connor as one of our own," Jenne said."Thank you, to the family, for giving us this portion of his life."

After graduating from Piper High School in 1990, Revera spent three years in the Marines, serving on numerous humanitarian missions and garnering honors. In 1995, he joined the Broward Sheriff's Office. He was a road patrol deputy and a member of the SWAT Team.

Protecting others from harm was something Deputy Revera did most of his adult life, said his friend and fellow Marine, Sgt. Matt Morse.

Morse read part of a letter Revera wrote to a friend while in the Marines. In it, he talked of the "warrior's heart."

"It is an unselfish heart, a self-sacrificing heart for the benefit of others," Morse read. "He would lay down his life for his friends."

But, Revera pointed out in the letter, "One is not born with a warrior's heart. One must develop it."